Tiger Attack: Boy Loses Arm in Brazil Zoo

He was at Cascavel Zoo, in the state of Parana, with his father and three-year-old brother when he got into an area just outside the tiger's enclosure and tried to pet the animal through the bars of the cage.

Several visitors tried to alert the father that he was in a prohibited area.

Local teacher Ricardo Espindula, who feared something might happen, recorded footage of the boy with the tiger moments before the attack on his mobile phone.

When the father next looked, he saw his son covered in blood. First aiders arrived quickly and took the boy to a local university hospital where he received treatment for the deep cuts to his right arm.

He was operated on several times, but lost the injured limb and remains in intensive care. A biologist at the zoo said the tiger, called Hu and weighing more than 200kg, was a docile animal and had been at the facility for more than two years.

There is a guard usually watching the animal but he had gone on his rounds at the time of the attack.

Ebola: A Disease Out Of Control?

Sierra Leone has declared a state of emergency and called in troops to enforce an Ebola quarantine, joining Liberia in imposing controls to curb the worst ever outbreak of the virus amid fears it could spread beyond West Africa.

Ebola has killed more than 700 deaths in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organisation.

It has also reached Nigeria's biggest city Lagos, where authorities said on Friday a man had died of the virus.

Doctors Without Borders warned on Wednesday that the disease was "out of control". Ebola's symptoms include internal and external bleeding, vomiting and diarrhoea. The disease kills up to 90 percent of those infected, though the death rate in the current epidemic is about 60 percent.

  The US and countries in Asia and Europe say they have taken measures to prevent the spread of Ebola in their territories.   But what caused the latest outbreak? And how will the world deal with it?  

American Ebola Virus Patient Will Come To US

Two humanitarian aid workers infected with the Ebola virus that has swept West Africa and killed more than 700 people are headed home to the United States, officials said Thursday.

A private jet equipped with a quarantine pod left Cartersville, Ga., Thursday afternoon headed for Liberia to evacuate Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, CNN reported.

Brantly and Writebol, both Americans working for the faith-base charity Samaritan’s Purse, are said to be in stable but grave condition.

The two volunteers came down with the deadly virus while caring for patients with Ebola at a hospital in Monrovia, Liberia.

Isreal Vows To Destroy Tunnels At Gaza-Isreal Border

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country is determined, regardless of ceasefire efforts, to complete the destruction of tunnels that Palestinian fighters have built under the Gaza-Israel border.

In public remarks at the start of a cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv, he said he would not agree to any proposal that would not enable the army "to complete this important task for the sake of Israel's security".

"Until now, we have destroyed dozens of terror tunnels and we are determined to finish this mission - with or without a ceasefire," Netanyahu said on Thursday. Major General Sami Turgeman, chief of Israeli forces in Gaza, earlier said troops were "but a few days away from destroying all the attack tunnels".

Netanyahu’s statement undermines ongoing diplomatic efforts to put an end to the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip which has entered its 25th day. At least 13 people were killed on Thursday in Israeli air strikes on different areas across the coastal enclave, Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported. The latest deaths bring the death toll of Palestinians killed in the offensive, which began on July 8, to at least 1,371, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

More than 7,700 others have been reported injured. Rockets fired from Gaza into Israel have so far killed two Israeli civilians and one Thai citizen. The fighting has killed 58 Israeli troops. Israel says it launched its military campaign to stop rocket fire from Gaza towards Israel. Ground troops were sent in on July 17 to destroy what Israel says are sophisticated network of tunnels used by Hamas and affiliated groups. 

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay on Thursday slammed Israel's attacks on homes, schools, hospitals and United Nations facilities in Gaza. She condemned what she said was Israel's "deliberate defiance" of international law during the Gaza conflict. "There appears to be deliberate defiance of obligations that international law imposes on Israel," Pillay said.  She spoke a day after Israeli shelling on a UN-run school that was sheltering displaced families killed 19 people.

US Ebola Doctor Gives Serum To Fellow Patients

Dr Kent Brantly and missionary Nancy Writebol are both in a "stable but grave condition", according to an aid organisation, although his condition deteriorated slightly overnight.

The North Carolina-based Samaritan's Purse charity said in a statement: "Yesterday, an experimental serum arrived in the country, but there was only enough for one person. Dr Brantly asked that it be given to Nancy Writebol."

The charity also said Dr Brantly, 33, had been given a unit of blood from a 14-year-old boy who survived ebola because of the American's medical care. It is hoped the boy may have developed antibodies that could help Dr Brantly fight off the infection, which has no vaccine or specific treatment.

The ebola outbreak is the worst in history and has killed 729 people in West Africa, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), which announced a $100m plan to tackle the disease.

In Sierra Leone, which accounts for around a third of all deaths from the disease, President Ernest Bai Koroma declared a state of emergency.

Two People Quarantined In Nigeria Over Ebola

Nigeria's Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu has announced that two people who had "primary contact" with Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian man who died of Ebola in Lagos last week, have been quarantined and 69 placed under medical surveillance.
AFP reports that Mr Chukwu told reporters in Abuja: "We are tracking all those with primary contact with a view to deciding those who must be quarantined and those who will just remain under surveillance. As at today 69 are under surveillance and two quarantined," he said, adding that "they will remain under the surveillance until a period of three weeks at least".

Spread by close contact with an infected person through bodily fluids such as sweat, blood and tissue, Ebola can fell victims within days, causing severe fever and muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhoea -- and in some cases, organ failure and unstoppable bleeding.

No Fresh Case Of Ebola In Lagos-Lagos State Government Says

The Lagos state government says no fresh case of Ebola virus has been discovered in the state or in any part of the country.

According to the Special Adviser to the Lagos state Governor on Public Health, Dr (Mrs) Yewande Adeshina, all the 59 people who had direct or indirect contact with late Liberian Patrick Sawyer who died last Friday in Lagos from the virus, have been traced, tested and found to be hale and hearty and have not exhibited any unusual body temperature or any other symptoms of the dreaded virus. Continue..

In a related development, the state Commissioner for Information, Lateef Ibirogba advised residents to be wary of the activities of fraudsters who are making spurious claims about their ability to provide cure for the Ebola Virus, urging them to always contact health providers to report unusual feelings noticed as only medical solutions are known to be appropriate for the disease. He warned those making false claims of being able to cure the disease to desist from it or would be made to face the full wrath of the law once they are caught.

He reminded residents of the State to make use of the emergency phone numbers- 08023169485, 08033086660, 08033065303, 08055281442 and 08055329229 provided to contact health authorities in case anyone with observed symptoms of the Ebola disease is noticed.

Government Seals Hospital In Anambra Because Of Ebola

A hospital has been sealed off and its workers and patients quarantined due to an Ebola disease scare in Anambra State today.

According to the Anambra Commissioner of Health, Josephat Akabuike, the measure followed information received by the government that a man whose body was brought back from Liberia at the weekend, might have died of the killer disease. He said that information available to the government indicated that the body was brought back from Liberia through Lagos and deposited in the mortuary at Nkwelle-Ezenaka in Oyi Local Government of the state. “Part of the briefing is to tell you what we are doing to make sure we don’t allow the deadly virus to come into the state. 

What actually called for this is that we have a report that a corpse was brought through Lagos and the deceased was said to have been taken from Liberia where of course you know there are cases of the disease.   The corpse was said to have been brought to Nigeria and deposited somewhere in Nkwelle-Ezunaka and the ministry was alerted and that is why we are taking all these measures.”

The commissioner said that Governor Willie Obiano had already directed the Police Command in the state to cordon off the place until the necessary tests were carried out. He further said that Federal Government had also sent medical experts from the Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja, to Anambra to carry out the test at the hospital premises.

Jonathan Appoints AIG Suleiman Abba As New Inspector General Of Police

We now have a new Inspector General of Police (pictured in the middle, flanked by Pres. Jonathan and outgoing IG of police, Mohammed Abubakar). Find the State House press release below...

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has approved the appointment of AIG Suleiman Abba as the new Inspector-General of Police. AIG Abba, currently the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 7, comprising Abuja, Kaduna and Niger states, replaces the incumbent Inspector-General of Police, IGP Mohammed Abubakar who proceeds on statutory retirement today having completed 35 years in service.

The incoming Inspector-General, a lawyer, hails from Jigawa State and is an alumnus of the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies. Positions previously held by him in the Police include Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department, FCT Command, Deputy Force Secretary and Commissioner of Police, Rivers State. His appointment is with effect from Friday, August 1, 2014.

Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity)
July 31, 2014

Burial Arrangement Of Prof.Dora Akunyili Announced By Her Family

The burial arrangement for late NAFDAC boss Prof. Dora Akunyili has been announced by her family. The burial arrangement is contained in a statement signed by her husband Dr Chike Akunyili which was posted on her Facebook wall this evening. Find it below...

The family of former Minister of Information and Communications, late Prof. (Mrs.) Dora Nkem Akunyili, has released a week-long programme of activities for her funeral, culminating in her burial on Thursday, August 28, 2014. The programme, released today in Enugu by Prof. Akunyili’s husband, Dr. Chike Akunyili, starts with a Christian Wake-Keep at No. 2A Bishop Onyeabor St., G.R.A. Enugu, to hold from 4:00 p.m. on Friday, August 22. Continue...

A Night of Tributes is to hold at International Conference Centre Abuja from 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 25, while a Mass would be held for her at Pro-Cathedral Catholic Church, Abuja, by 10:00 a.m. the next day, August 26. After the Church Service, Dora’s body would leave for Enugu, where there would be a Mass at KSJ Temple at 4:00 p.m. After a High Requiem Mass at Holy Ghost Cathedral Enugu at 9:00 a.m. the next day (Wednesday, August 27), Dora’s body would be taken to UNCOMA Hall, College of Medicine, Ituku Ozalla, Enugu, for Final College Assembly to start from 11:30 a.m. From there, the body would be taken to Awka for Anambra State Government activities, then to Dora’s father’s house in Nanka, before being returned to her husband’s house at Agulu for a Vigil Mass/Wake-Keep. On Thursday, August 28, Dora’s body would lie in state at John Chike Akunyili’s Compound before leaving for Agulu Town Hall, then Madonna Catholic Church Agulu for a Requiem Mass to hold by 10:00 a.m. Interment at John Chike Akunyili’s Compound follows at 1:30 p.m. Dr. Akunyili in a statement expressed gratitude to Nigerians for their outpouring of love and support for his family at this moment of grief.

“This has gone a great way in helping us to cope with the monumental loss of our precious gem, my beloved wife, Dora,” he said.

It would be recalled that Prof. (Mrs.) Akunyili, a former Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), died last Saturday, June 7, after a two-year battle with cancer. Prof. (Mrs.) Akunyili, who was a delegate to the on-going National Conference in Abuja, would have turned 60 on July 14, 2014.

Signed: Dr. Chike Akunyili (Husband) Enugu,
Wednesday,
July 31, 2014.

Police Explains Rise in Female Suicide Bombings in Nigeria

The Nigeria Police Force spokesperson Frank Mba has given an insight into the recent rise of female suicide bombers in Nigeria.

Addressing newsmen at the National Information Center yesterday, Mr Mba said Boko Haram men now use women because they raise fewer suspicions.

"If you have been following the trends of terrorism worldwide, you will understand that use of female suicide bombers is actually not totally new. It is actually a new trend in our own part of the world. The reasons why established international terrorist organizations go for female suicide bombers is clear. The major reason is that women raise fewer suspicions, particularly with security layers, and so they take advantage of the fact that women raise fewer suspicion to try to indoctrinate and recruit female suicide bombers. The suspicion even becomes much lesser if the woman in question is a minor and that explains why.

In addition to that is the fact that by rules of engagement that we are cultured to, male security operatives are not allowed to frisk or search females but we are equally developing counter terrorism strategies to deal with that.” he said

He disclosed that more female police officers will now be stationed on roads and other places where stop-and-search exercises are being carried out.

"Nigerians should prepare to see more female police officers, more female bomb disposal experts, more female DSS operatives, more female soldiers actually in combat operations and carrying out stop-and-search,” he said